Tony,I've been in the aerospace biz for 40 yrs and recall machining some spars for the Huey and Cobra stub wing armament systems, many moons ago.

I have some old clothes that seem to shrink hanging in the closet as well.

I'm a fixed wing jockey, all civilian prop stuff. I flew aerobatics in my Pitts and traveled a bit in my C-206. I never could rub my head and pat my bellie at the same time like it takes to fly a chopper.

Tony,I've been in the aerospace biz for 40 yrs and recall machining some spars for the Huey and Cobra stub wing armament systems, many moons ago.

I have some old clothes that seem to shrink hanging in the closet as well.

I'm a fixed wing jockey, all civilian prop stuff. I flew aerobatics in my Pitts and traveled a bit in my C-206. I never could rub my head and pat my bellie at the same time like it takes to fly a chopper.

LOL! That is indeed what one has to do! I used to fly fix wing also. Had my own Cherokee until the engine swallowed a valve over the wilds of New Hampshire. Thank God for the golf course that I saw for a forced landing.

Man, I envy you the Pitts. A great airplane! I did some mild aerobatics in an old Cessna Aerobat back in my Army days.

And I'm sure it has been my wife secretly shrinking the flight suit

This Saturday my 10 yr old grandson and I are going to the CAF Airsho and Jan Collimer will be there flying his Extra 300L

Remember -- any landing that you can walk away from ...........................

BTW, you must have made good parts -- I never had a Huey fall apart on me

I noticed a pic and short video of the prototype on their Facebook page and then emailed Gary about it. Twenty were already in production (I think they are all spoken for), but another 50 have been ordered. Somehow I managed to snag the first one he shipped out.

Well, I'll find out how it works on Saturday. He had quite a few prototypes being tested by WFO owners (both private and commercial) and feedback was positive enough for him to go forward with the design. I think the key with regards to the Blackstone will be to turn the flame down and make sure I launch with a proper angle to minimize contact with the stone. It shipped with an extra cloth.

I doubt it will be a problem in a BS if you turn the flame down. I only know one person who has used a Superpeel in a WFO, and it did catch fire (wasn't me). If you are running your WFO like a hot oven (700's), it might not be a problem. I suspect using it in ovens running at NP-temps will be a problem however. Maybe not the first or second time, but as cloth darkens and chars it becomes a lot more flammable.

Logged

"We make great pizza, with sourdough when we can, commercial yeast when we must, but always great pizza." Craig's Neapolitan Garage

Tony,I worked in flight test for Boeing on a couple programs, pushing paper with the FAA. I've been in the Airworthiness and Certification office for a decade or so. A few yrs ago I was told by my wife I was going to Disney World to vacation with her neice and nephew. I stumbled on an outfit at Kissimmee airport that has dual control TF-51s (P-51 conversion). I quickly arranged a flight. They have a few video cameras on the planes and provide the tape to customers your flight. I pieced a corny video together from their footage of my flight and my video footage. Best thing I can recall doing with a fist full of hundred dollar bills.

As for the peel, I would think a piece of aluminum screen would work in place of the cloth if burning is a concern for WFOs and Blackstones.

Tony,I worked in flight test for Boeing on a couple programs, pushing paper with the FAA. I've been in the Airworthiness and Certification office for a decade or so. A few yrs ago I was told by my wife I was going to Disney World to vacation with her neice and nephew. I stumbled on an outfit at Kissimmee airport that has dual control TF-51s (P-51 conversion). I quickly arranged a flight. They have a few video cameras on the planes and provide the tape to customers your flight. I pieced a corny video together from their footage of my flight and my video footage. Best thing I can recall doing with a fist full of hundred dollar bills.

As for the peel, I would think a piece of aluminum screen would work in place of the cloth if burning is a concern for WFOs and Blackstones.

Well, while we are certainly off topic here I must say that I don't find the video "corny" at all! Great images and, as a Texan I appreciate the landing sequence music. And as a former Airborne officer (Special Forces) I love the credit music! My grandson could sing the words to "Airborne Ranger" from the time he was about 3 or 4 and we would job together!

Update of the WFO Super Peel. Over the past two weeks I have used it in the Blackstone for a total of 10 pizzas so far (6 GF and 4 Neapolitans) and can report it works like a charm. Stone temperatures were hovering around 850ºF (rotating) and I turn the flame down a bit before launching. After a bit of practice with a "dummy" pizza and no heat, I found that I am able to launch without having to make contact with the stone. No burning or darkening of the cloth so far. Only the flour that is rubbed into the cloth gets a little dark, but easily brushes off. Its VERY quick, actually faster than using my four dusted epicurean peel. Also, no distortion of the pie's shape, round pies stay round. I initially purchased it for GF pizzas, but will probably use it for everything now due the minuscule amount of flour that gets on the stone during launching. I'm giving it a big Thumbs Up.

I already have a Superpeel, and a Blackstone oven is on the way. I got these cool Kevlar/Nomex long sleeved gloves rated at 500 degrees for outdoor woking at 65K BTU's, and was wondering if I could launch a pizza with the original Superpeel? I would think they could withstand a few seconds in there. Someone mentioned modifications to the Superpeel without saying what they are. Another idea I had was tying kitchen twine to the Superpeel for pulling the cloth belt back on launch. But none of that will work if the cloth or peel is going to catch on fire. Maybe turning the flame down for launch is sufficient. I like the idea of not having a bunch of burnt cornmeal on the stone. My launching technique needs a lot of work.

Maybe I will need to wait until this WFO Superpeel is available for sale. I assume people have tried using a perforated pan or screen with the Blackstone, but maybe that defeats the whole purpose of owning one. I want to start with cracker style crusts and they seem even harder to launch.

Try it with the sleeves and gloves and see how you do. In terms of mods, I in essence rebuilt it - I made the handle longer, and put a channel in it, then put a piece of wood with a knob in it in the channel, and attached that to the end of the fabric - that way when I put the peel all the way in the oven, my hand goes on the knob with is a foot or more away from the oven, and as you withdraw the peel, and the fabric moves, your hand stays pretty far away from the front. I had never seen a WFO, but would guess that the heat pouring out of the front of that has less volume than a BS, since a BS is burning at 60,000 BTU per hour, and a WFO instead is using a lot of stored heat, so the knob would not be as essential. As Craig points out, the floor temp of a WFO is probably a lot higher, so don't know how well the original one would hold up. BTW, I haven't thought to try to keep the superpeel off the stone when launching and instead slide it along the stone, with the motor off, and so it has singed and burnt in a few spots - especially where it hit the heat shield in the back, but I stitched it up and it is going strong.

Just wanted to drop in an address some of the concerns about using the Super Peel in hot oven environments. Yes, I recall seeing a post somewhere a long while back about someone inserting their Super Peel into their WFO and having it catch on fire. The take away from that was that he was operating at over 1000 and I don't know how long he left it in there. Seemed more pushing the envelope just to see what would happen.

Many users have reported great success in their pizza ovens. A local guy who operates a mobile WFO has been using a "shorty" for the past several months. He does about 200-300 pies in a day and other than getting "dirty" the cloths have been holding up fine.

Two things to remember when using your Super Peel, especially in a pizza oven. Get in and out quickly, and as one or two others have mentioned do not drag on the floor. The latter point is just good technique, as the peel operates much more smoothly without drag on the bottom. Just keep it a fraction of an inch off and see how much better it works.

Re, the other point......think of it as your hand moving through a flame. 1000+F no problem as long as you do it relatively quickly. yes you could singe some arm hair, but no real damage done. Same with the Super Peel. It is not so much the air temperature of the oven that could affect the cloth, rather it is proximity to a strong radiant heat source that can do it in. The analogy here would be standing next to a very hot campfire. The ambient air temperature may be 30F, but you cannot stand close to that fire for more than a few seconds!! Same goes here. Just don't expect to be able to leave it in a flame or very close to a strong fire (obviously there don't need to be flames) for long without effect.

Bottom line is: get in and out quickly and don't drag on oven floor. The cloths will not last forever, but it is amazing how well they hold up.

Nomex (aramid, I think, vs. para aramid which is Kevlar) was mentioned as a possible belt material. I am working on a high temp belt and have looked at that. I can not find anything regarding food contact and nomex. While you or I may not really care, we cannot market something that "might" be unsafe. If anyone knows of food contact/nomex info I would appreciate a point in that direction. That is the "best" solution from a cost and traditional release (fabric) standpoint. I am testing a silicone coated fabric that shows great promise, but it is very costly and being rubber has a lot of drag. On the upside, it has superior release properties, especially when lightly floured, and the flour sticks to it by static creating a very slick surface. It works well.

Good thread, and I appreciate Gary weighing in. FWIW, I've been using a Super Peel with my Blackstone oven for about a month, and have made maybe 10 pizzas. For the most part, it's great. I just ordered a couple extra belts, because I've found when used at the 800 F stone temperature, even with the flame turned down (and the rotisserie motor turned off) for launch, I've gotten some scorching and melting of the belt. This tells me that I'll eventually have to replace the belt, because with every scorch and melt, it gets less and less pliable.

I wonder if the belt is a blend of natural and synthetics? I was surprised to experience the melting, to be honest. Scorching I was expecting. I do a quick launch, and the peel is only in the oven for maybe 3 seconds.

Other than this minor issue, the Super Peel is working really well. I continue to use my flat aluminum peel for extracting the pizza and for repositioning during bake.